Marketing Mentor Event: Connecting Clients and Experts

On Wednesday, Feb. 24, 31 small business owners gathered at Mercy Corps Northwest for a new event, an evening of “speed mentoring.” In speed dating format, the event paired 30 entrepreneurs with 15 mentors in three twenty minute sessions, to explore their most pressing Marketing challenges. The mentors were 15 of the top marketing experts in Portland, advising on issues such as branding, social media, email marketing, SEO, general marketing strategy, public relations, initial market research, competitive analysis and digital media.

During the evening, attendees also had a chance to connect with other small business owners, to work together in peer learning exercises and swap entrepreneur war stories. Their engaged discussions demonstrated the value of peer learning and support, a hallmark of all Mercy Corps Northwest classes, seminars and events. We are so appreciative of our incredible mentors who volunteered their time to the event, sharing their expertise and words of wisdom all evening long. It wasn’t easy solving such a wide variety of marketing challenges from such a wide variety of clientele, but they did a fantastic job fielding questions and offering new solutions and ideas.

We know the attendees received invaluable marketing information and advice, but the mentors found it meaningful too, as a way to give back, strengthen small businesses and help the community. As Mitzi Sandman, one of the event mentors, said, “Thanks for the opportunity! I feel like I was way more helpful than I’d thought I would be going in. I was able to pull from my decades (yikes!) of experience in marketing and figuring out ways to connect with target markets and find niches, to help the entrepreneurs who came in. It was very inspiring and fulfilling for me and I hope I was helpful to those seeking expertise.”